Supporting electric vehicles in France

We are lending a total EUR 205m to support the research, development and deployment of an electric-car sharing service in Paris, France. New financing of EUR 75m was agreed with Groupe Bolloré on 12th October to help fund new services. This follows a January 2011 EIB loan of EUR 130m to support the research, development and innovation process.

The new funding will go towards:

Deployment of an interconnected roadside and recharging/parking network

Research, development and innovation of subscription, billing, recharging and fleet-management systems

This new loan will help Groupe Bolloré add to the success of its existing electric car service in Paris: 1,750 electric vehicles using 710 recharging/parking stations for the benefit of 38,800 users.

“This demonstrates our firm commitment in favour of innovation and research/development,” said Philippe de Fontaine Vive, EIB Vice President. “We are supporting cutting edge technology because this is the key to sustainable economic development and job creation for young people.” As for company CEO Vincent Bolloré: “This new EIB loan…will allow us to develop new innovations and applications in the strategically important area of electrical storage.”